Dream of Northern Tourism Boom Faces Crisis Due to 'Wuhan Pneumonia'

North Korea Implements Complete Ban on Foreign Tourists
Effectively Halts Foreign Currency Income from Tourism
Lacks Health and Quarantine Systems... Epidemics Could Be Disastrous
No Real Countermeasures Beyond Border Closure

As the novel coronavirus known as 'Wuhan pneumonia' rapidly spreads in China, Korean Central TV announced on the 21st that measures are being prepared to prevent infection. The photo is a screenshot from Korean Central TV, showing a meeting of officials from the Ministry of Public Health.

North Korea has taken an extraordinary measure to completely ban the entry of foreign tourists in order to prevent the novel coronavirus (Coronavirus), commonly referred to as 'Wuhan pneumonia.' Declaring a frontal breakthrough against sanctions on North Korea, the country has made 'tourism' a key driver of economic development and has been making all-out efforts. The fact that North Korea is suspending the acceptance of tourists is evidence that it is taking this situation very seriously.

On the 21st, 'Young Pioneer Tours,' a North Korea-specialized travel agency based in China, announced on its website that "North Korean authorities will temporarily suspend the entry of all foreign tourists starting January 22 to prevent the coronavirus." Another North Korea-specialized travel agency, Koryo Tours, also stated on the same day that "North Korean authorities are believed to have taken measures to prevent the coronavirus from entering their country," and that North Korean tourism is temporarily suspended.

This is the first time in six years since the 'Ebola outbreak' in 2014 that North Korea has banned the entry of foreigners for epidemic prevention. Analysts suggest that North Korea's decision to block its borders even at the cost of giving up foreign currency income from tourism reflects a fear that an epidemic could shake the very foundation of the state system.

North Korea's health and quarantine system is practically one of the worst in the world. According to the '2019 Global Health Security Index' report released last year by the U.S. Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), North Korea ranked 193rd out of 195 countries in health security capacity. It scored zero in all categories including emergency preparedness and response planning, response plan exercises, and alert system infrastructure, indicating a complete lack of a health response system.

North Korea's epidemic response measures are essentially limited to border closures. In fact, during the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in China, North Korean authorities suspended the air route connecting Pyongyang and Beijing.

In 2015, when Ebola occurred, North Korea canceled international events involving foreigners, banned the entry of foreign tourists, and quarantined visitors arriving from Ebola-affected countries for a certain period.

Meanwhile, attention is focused on whether inter-Korean quarantine cooperation can be realized in light of this situation. In the Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September last year, President Moon Jae-in and North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un promised in Article 2, Clause 4 to "strengthen cooperation in quarantine and health and medical fields, including emergency measures to prevent the inflow and spread of infectious diseases." However, during last year's African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak, although the South consistently proposed cooperation to the North, North Korea ultimately did not respond at all.

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, provided on-site guidance at the construction site of the Yangdok Hot Spring Tourist Area in Yangdok County, South Pyongan Province, which is nearing completion, the Korean Central News Agency reported on October 25 last year. Chairman Kim is looking at hot spring eggs.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.